Image Gallery: A look at the Nokia N900 Maemo 5 device after two months of use

Nokia N900 retail packaging

The Nokia N900 is now available from various US retailers and after two full months of using a loaner device I just purchased my own. This latest Linux-based device has a new version of the Maemo OS and integrates a cellular radio. You will find some aspects of S60 in the N900, along with a rather unique user interface and extremely powerful Mozilla-based web browser. Apps are still early in development, but with the browser you can do most everything you need to do with dedicated apps.

Nokia N900 in landscape

The N900 is designed to be used primarily in landscape mode with only a couple of apps designed for portrait mode, including the phone and podcatcher.

Left side of the keyboard

The keys are sized well and have good travel when pressed.

Right side of the keyboard

As you can see on the right side the space bar is offset and adjacent to four directional arrow keys.

Full QWERTY keyboard

The display slides up to reveal the keyboard. There are three rows on the keyboard and I would have like to have seen it slid up just a bit more for easy access to the top row.

Back of raised display, left side

On the back of the left side you will find the words, Designed in Finland.

Back of raised display, right side

The processor and integrated flash drive capacity are shown on the back of the right side.

Camera on the back of the N900

There is a 5 megapixel camera with shutter cover on the back of the N900.

Kickstand for viewing

A kickstand pops out from under the camera so you can prop up the N900 and place it on the table to watch movies and use the device without your hands.

Open camera shutter

You slide the shutter over to reveal the lens and dual LED flash lights.

Left side of the N900

The left stereo speaker, microUSB port, and lanyard opening are located on the left side (assuming landscape mode is the default mode).

Top of the N900

Along the top you will find the IR port, camera capture button, power button, and volume toggle switch.

Right side of the N900

The stylus slides out to the right side, with the mic placed between it and the 3.5mm headset jack. There is a lock switch and the right stereo speaker too.

Removing the stylus from the silo

The stylus is well secured in place, but is also easy to slide out with your fingernail.

Stylus has good length

While it is plastic the stylus does have good length.

N900 compared to N97 mini

Here you can see the two keyboards compared to each other.

N97 mini behind N900

The N97 mini and N900 have similar form factors with slide up displays.

N900 compared to Touch Pro2

The Touch Pro2 has one of the best QWERTY keyboards I have ever used and you can see how much bigger it is than the N900.

Front camera and proximity sensor

When you hold the N900 to your face the display goes off so you won't accidentally press anything on the screen.

Unlock the device

You will find an iPhone similar slide to unlock option on the N900.

Photo taken with the N900

The N900 takes decent photos as you can see in this shot.

NFL Gamecast looks fantastic

The web browser on the N900 sets the bar for the best web browser on any mobile phone and sites such as ESPN are perfectly viewable.

Task manager

The task manager shows live thumbnails of running applications and different web pages that are open in the browser.

Full Internet in your pocket

You don't have to worry about viewing mobile websites with this Mozilla-based browser.

Browser options

Tapping the top center of the browser page gives you these options.

Visual browser history

Tapping the back arrow presents you with a visual history of the sites you have visited.

Application manager

This utility is used to install and remove applications on your N900.

Repository setup

The Ovi Store is not yet live so you need to setup the Publishers/repositories where you want to check for free apps.

Calendar weekly view

Contacts and online status

Within your Contacts application you can check what client(s) your friends are signed into on the N900.

Media player application

The Media Player application is simple to use and yet is quite functional for music, movies, and internet radio.

Movie titles on the N900

I used a simple program to get my personal DVD collection onto the N900 and found the same format works on multipled devices.

Witter Twitter app

Witter is a fairly new Twitter application and in just about 10 days has come a long ways. I look forward to continued development of the application since there are not many clients to choose from at this time.

Threaded SMS

Unlike Nokia S60 devices, the N900 has support for threaded SMS. This includes quick emoticons that you can use in your chats.

Sign into services

There are several VoIP and IM services you can sign into on the N900. You will find more services in the repositories on the N900 too.

Initiating a Skype call

Skype calls are extremely easy to make on the N900 and sound excellent even via WiFi.

Email application

POP, IMAP, and Exchange are supported on the N900 and you can have multiple accounts.

Viewing email

The orange emails have not yet been read and after reading them they turn white.

FM radio utility

The FM radio hardware is in the N900, but you have to download and install a free utility to use it.

Application launcher

The application launcher is broken into two main screens where the icons are placed automatically by the OS. Tapping an icon launches the application.

One of the four desktop views

This desktop page was setup with web browser shortcuts.

Contact desktop setup

This desktop view was setup as a quick dial screen with contacts on the display.

App and widget desktop

Here I have application shortcuts and a Calendard shortcut loaded on the N900.

Widget desktop

My fourth desktop is used for widgets and as you saw each desktop had a different background wallpaper image.

How many desktops do you want?

You can choose from one to four desktop panels.

Desktop options

These are the available options for adding content to your desktops.

Available widgets

Nokia includes some widgets by default and then other apps include widgets for self installation.

Notification and quick manager

There are several settings and connection options that are managed with this pop-up display.

Clock utility

The clock utility can be used for alarms and for viewing world clock data.?

Managing your status

You can login on the N900 and easily communicate and interact with your friends.

Personalization settings

There are several settings available in a central location to manage your device.

Connectivity options

There are several options available to make sure you are connected.

General settings

There are couple of general settings as well.

Memory status

Even with several applications loaded up on the N900 I have a ton of room left for loading up apps.

More memory details

Here is the internal storage card status.

FM transmitter utility

When you are listening to audio content you can tap the top center and activate the FM transmitter.

GPS location management

You can turn on your GPS receiver and leave it on for location-based apps.

Notification light settings

Several different notifications can be toggled on or off for the indicator light on the front.

Display settings

This screenshot shows available display settings.

Text input options

These are the text input options you can use to enhance your experience.

Services for sharing photos

You can easily share photos with these services on the device.

Tagging photos

It is easy to tags photos on the N900 and then you can easily filter your images.

Viewing a photo in the photo viewer

Tapping once on a photo/screenshot opens up some basic editing options.

Cropping an image

You can crop an image right on the N900, but make sure you save it as something different than the original photo title.

Edition options

You can perform some basic editing right on the N900. The available options should meet most people's needs.

Adjusting brightness and contrast

Another option in the program.

Sharing options

You can share via Bluetooth, email, or predesignated services.

Entering data to share

Different fields can be entered for sharing out your photos.

Typical contact view

You can communicate in various ways by tapping on the contact number, email, website, etc.

Photo capturing some great action

We were at a local pumpkin patch and I caught my daughters in action.

More jumping at the farm

Here is another fun shot of a daughter in the air.

At the farm

My daughters having fun at the farm.

Another shot from Halloween

We had a blast at the pumpkin patch.

Sample 5 megapixel standard photo

You can compare this photo to the next one shot in the same position to see what layout your prefer.

Sample 3.5 megapixel widescreen photo

This photo was taken in widescreen 3.5 megapixel mode.

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Nokia N900 retail packaging

The Nokia N900 is now available from various US retailers and after two full months of using a loaner device I just purchased my own. This latest Linux-based device has a new version of the Maemo OS and integrates a cellular radio. You will find some aspects of S60 in the N900, along with a rather unique user interface and extremely powerful Mozilla-based web browser. Apps are still early in development, but with the browser you can do most everything you need to do with dedicated apps.